Hollywood sex scenes have plummeted 40% since 2000, with many top-grossing films ‘squeaky clean’: study

Perhaps activity doesn’t waste — astatine slightest not successful Hollywood.

Despite caller hits for illustration “Saltburn” and “Poor Things” making a scatter pinch their risqué scenes, activity connected nan large surface has plummeted astir 40% since nan move of nan century, according to a caller study.

From 2000 to 2023, some nan wide number of steamy on-screen scenes and nan magnitude of movies containing depictions of actors getting frisky person gone measurement south, nan study conducted by information intelligence Stephen Follows for the Economist found.

Follows compared nan level of activity contented successful nan 250 top-grossing films of each twelvemonth since 2000 and recovered a clear trend.

As clip has passed, moviemakers person put little and little skin-on-skin interaction successful their films.

A segment from Saltburn pinch character Barry Keoghan showing disconnected his shoulders underneath his bathrobe. Amazon Studios

And it’s not conscionable that activity scenes are becoming little aggravated and dirty.

A driving facet of nan findings is an summation successful nan number of apical 250 films pinch nary activity astatine all, nan study found.

This reached a highest successful 2019 erstwhile half of nan 250 top-grossing films that twelvemonth were “squeaky clean” and nan magnitude has only dipped somewhat pinch astir 46% of past year’s apical movies having nary activity scenes.

Action and thriller movies person seen nan sharpest dips successful nan magnitude of whoopee-making among movie genres, while romanticist films had nan smallest decline.

Emma Stone successful a segment from “Poor Things.” AP

To spot if nan virginizing of Hollywood was portion of a larger inclination successful prudish behaviour aliases an anomaly, nan study looked astatine different factors that could bring a movie up to a PG-13 aliases R rating.

But that magnitude of violence, supplier use, and profanities person a much dependable watercourse complete nan years — pinch a flimsy uptick successful violence.

Follows offers a number of theories that could explicate nan downward inclination including changes successful societal norms, world marketplace considerations, and nan prevalence of streaming services, aliases greater attraction for nan wellbeing of actors connected set.

He besides suggested Gen Z’s alleged disinterest successful sex, nan emergence of intimacy coordinators successful Hollywood and moreover online porn — making it easier to get big contented than ever earlier truthful movie producers don’t person to interest astir fulfilling those needs.